A finished object

So a few weeks ago I took a class at my LYS (The Net Loft) to make a needle felted piece.  They had offered the class a number of times, but I was never able to make it.  So when a friend asked me to join a special class she had set up because her mom was in town, I jumped at the chance! I have done needle felting before (and used to teach a class on it in Anchorage) but I always love taking classes and learning little tips and tricks.  I was able to finish this project in class, minus one small thing…I bought a charm for the center that has the latitude and longitude of Cordova on it.  I wanted it to have something Cordovan without it being obvious and this was perfect. This week I finally took the five mins to sew it on and get it hung on the wall. I could not be happier.

As I was looking at my calendar this week I realized a pretty big event was much sooner than I expected.  I have been so busy getting ready for Sawyer to start preschool Monday and our trip to Anchorage Wednesday that I didn't even realize that it is SEPTEMBER! Which means it is almost Lucy's 3rd birthday! And here I am almost two weeks out with nothing planned. For me, this is nuts. But, it has been a crazy summer for us, oh, and how is it already SEPTEMBER!?!? Anyway, I asked Lucy what kind of party she wanted and she said "Ponies", so I will pick up a few things in Anchorage for that while we are there. I also dug out a knitting project I talked about last week to attempt to finish it for her birthday, her Lovely Rita dress. This is a pattern by Martina Behm (who has a lot of patterns, most notably probably her Hitchhiker scarf) and I have really enjoyed it so far. It starts with a provisional cast on and a picot hem, which took some time, but was worth it. I am using a variety of pinks for the main color (a gradient effect with multiple balls) and white for the accent color. So in my mind, the flowers will wind up white. I wanted to minimize the white because Lucy is a very rough and tumble child who gets pretty dirty. So, while it is unlikely I will get this finished for her birthday, it is getting worked on which is a step in the right direction. 

Another project I pulled out of hibernation this week was Weston's Gansey.  One night I decided to cast on the second welt and just about had a heart attack when I couldn't find the binder with the pattern I had designed in it. I searched everywhere. I was frantic, convinced I had misplaced it in the move and I would be unable to find it until I moved again….then I searched one more random box (a box with preschool stuff in it) and found it. Whew. So, I got the second welt cast on and finished and now it is waiting to be joined in the round. I am hoping to do that tonight so I can take it with me on my trip next week.  It will be the perfect carry along project because it is just knitting for a million inches now. 

Next week will be eventful for us, so hopefully I have fun stories to share next time! 

Happy knitting!

Back in the Saddle

I stumbled across my poorly neglected blog while looking at my Ravelry profile the other day and have been thinking about it since.  It was fun to look back and see how I felt about different projects and the different things I would write down…

SO, I decided to get back to it.

Things are a bit different now, more than two years later. Our family moved to Cordova, Alaska this past fall and have been enjoying our time here. Lucy is almost 3 (and very much a three-nager) and Sawyer will be 5 soon.  Sawyer recently got into the preschool here which starts at the end of the month and he is very excited to go!

I have been knitting…and knitting…and knitting. This year I have finished 18 projects so far. (Rav link if you are interested in seeing what they are) My favorite one is Lucy's latest sweater. I need to get a modeled shot of her, but I just LOVE it! It is the Imagination Sweater by Kate Oates out of her newest book Knits for Boys.

On the needles I have …. a lot. I am working on a Gansey sweater for Weston (as part of the Cordova Gansey Project which you can read more about here), which I am dragging my feet on. I also have another sweater for Lucy that she helped dye the yarn for (PINK!) and I need to knit Sawyer an Imagination Sweater as well. I also have a dress for Lucy and two projects for myself on the needles.  The problem is a lot of these projects are at a place where I need to focus on them to work on them, which means knitting only happens after the kids go to bed. So I keep casting on new, simpler projects to keep with me in my purse for knitting on the go.  My mom recently send me some fun yarn and I whipped this hat out for Sawyer in a day.

When all of your projects are on size 0 or 2 needles, working on a size 9 makes things fly off the needles! The yarn is called "Top This" by DMC and it is hilarious. Lucy will have a pink bunny one tonight and my mom also sent a monkey and an owl.  The kids have plenty of hats, but they are my favorite thing to knit, super useful, and always good to have stashed away in different places. 

Having so much on my needles (and more to knit in my stash) hasn't stopped me from dreaming about what yarn and project I want to buy for next. I have become obsessed with this rainbow blanket from Knit Picks and I will knit it. It is simple and looks so cozy. 

I have been walking the dogs a lot since I got a Fitbit this month. I average about 6 miles a day walking and during that time I listen to knitting podcasts. Maybe if my dogs were better walkers I could knit and walk, but I really have to focus on not getting tangled… Anyway, I have found a new one (to me) that I am really enjoying.  It is called Teaching your Brain to Knit and it talks about knitting and the brain.  Today it talked about how knitting can help prevent age related dementia, which was very interesting. 

Alright, off to a softball game for Weston's work. I hope everyone has a great weekend!